Staying Together Through it All
by Aralain
Summary: They're alone. They are defeated. Harry, Hermione, Bill, Ginny, Neville, Padma, Luna and Ena are all that is left. So, how far back does a timeturner go? Need Help Reviewers influence pairings!
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my wonderful story or at least I like to pretend it is. I can't tell you how glad I am that you decided to choose my story to fill your time. I am thrilled that you would be interested in this overused plotline, but I did try to take another way to it. Please enjoy my first chapter and pray I can get through my story before I get distracted by life's troubles. Trust me, if you start to get into this story, you'll hear many, many excuses on my part, but I'll try to limit them.

A fanvid inspired this story so I decided to put the lyrics in. They don't pertain too much to the plot, but every once in a while you'll be able to make a connection. Pairings are not decided. Don't let this chapter confuse you. Don't try to look that closely into the actions of the characters yet... You may be able to influence my pairings.

_See the Devil on the Doorstep now (my oh my)_

_Telling everybody how to live their lives_

_Sliding down the information highway_

_Buying in just like a bunch of fools_

_Time is ticking and we can't go back (my oh my)_

"We have to go somewhere; we have to get away," Hermione whispered, looking down at Harry's broken body as they heard heavy boot-falls outside the door. They were quiet for a few moments until they could hear nothing else and Hermione then whispered a spell to keep sound inside the room. Harry was coughing, blood trickling from his lips.

"Where? Where the hell is there to go, Hermione? What do you think we'll be able to do?" Ginny shouted, finally snapping. Everything was too hard. It was happening too fast. Now half the order was dead. The only ones left were too scattered to find, leaving only the Gryffindor seventh-years to be and a few others to fend for themselves.

"We can't get out?" Harry choked out, his chin covered in blood, sputtering out the rest. He began shaking, his already pale thin turning blue.

A medium-height brunette knelt beside Hermione; her name was Ena. Luckily, she was in secondary school, year twelve, and taking quite a few medical classes. She log-rolled Harry to the side, expertly supporting his weight as she whispered words of encouragement and making sure he didn't choke on the blood coming from his lips.

"There's always a way," came Luna Lovegood's dreamy voice. They all turned to her. Ginny was furious at this point. She walked, swiftly and angrily across the room, grabbing Luna by the collar and putting a wand to her throat.

"Ginny, let her go! She's right," Neville said, prying the furious Ginny from Luna, stepping between them to protect Luna who seemed absolutely unfazed by the violent abuse that was nearly served out by the fire-breathing Ginny Weasley.

"It's a time-turner," Ginny said, not understanding at all. "So we'll go back an hour and still be in the bloody same place, the middle of the Death-Eater stronghold. Great bloody work, Lovegood."

Hermione looked up quickly, leaping to her feet. "My god, Luna, you're an absolute savior," she said, seizing the time-turner from Luna's hands.

"There's not much we can do with that," Padma said pessimistically, glancing at Harry.

"The magic is not in the turner, but is in the powder inside the hourglass," Hermione said.

"The powder is a very powerful plant with extreme properties that are known to change time," Neville added, helpfully to Hermione's explanation.

"If the powder is turned it only changes time a short while. If it is scattered, that changes everything about how a time-turner works. We could end up in any time, but it will be at least three decades before now, back when this was an abandoned castle, unused for about sixty years. If I remember the history of this place, it was shut down between nineteen-twelve and nineteen seventy five, at which time it was opened as a tourist spot for muggles which was ended by Voldemort's very quiet massacre of all those muggles last year, which means that we have a… sixty-three year gap of time which we might end up and if it works, we can just live normally can't we? Sure, we alter the course of time, but what course of time is this? Nothing good can come of the ending of this story. We have to be able to do something and Luna has found it," Hermione said.

"Actually, with that amount, it would be nearer to twenty years time that we would be sent, twenty-five if we're lucky; that would be cutting it awfully close, Hermione," Neville warned.

"Hermione, you hate tampering with time! We're in a tight spot but if we think, we can get out of it. I'm sure we'll be fine. If we jump time then we don't know when we'll end up and magic that powerful might even send us to the wrong place not just the wrong time!" Ginny exclaimed appalled that now for once she was the voice of reason.

"THERE'S NO CHOICE GINNY! EVERYONE IS DEAD! I lost one best friend and I'm not about to lose the other. Besides, if the powder does send us astray in place it will take us to magic. Powerful magic is attracted by powerful magic, meaning we would be sent closer to help not further from it," Hermione said, calming down after her initial outbreak of anger. She had trouble with anger lately, but she couldn't be blamed, everyone she loved was dead, her parents, most of the Weasleys, including Ron, and all of the Hogwarts professors.

All that was left of the order were its junior members and Bill Weasley, who didn't talk much anymore, especially after Fleur, Charlie, the twins, and his parents were dead. He couldn't handle it.

People dealt with pain in different ways. Ginny yelled, Hermione reasoned, Harry worked himself to the brink of death, Bill was silent as was Padma and Luna did whatever she did if anything without the watchful eyes of her companions on her.

The only rational mind ended up being Neville Longbottom actually, he and Ena who had only dealt with the death of her abusive parents. She hadn't spoken for days after, but once Harry broke through it, she seemed to be as normal as possible in the situation. She and Neville were always off to the side talking about something or other.

"Bill, you make the decision," Hermione said. All eyes in the room went to him.

"If we have a chance to change all of this, then that is what we must do," Bill said.

"Hermione, are you sure?" Ginny asked, becoming very calm, her eyes suffocating and piercing at the same time.

"Does anyone object to trying to find a way to live through the day?" Hermione asked. There were many no's and much silence, but no one objected to the attempt at life.

"How are you going to do it then?" Ginny said, glancing at Harry, to check to see if he was okay. He seemed to be calming down and Neville had moved in front of him and was pulling plants from his pockets, obviously helping him along with the muggle girl, Ena.

Rowena or Ena was new to the Wizarding world, but had been quickly picking up magic. Ena was quickly picking up medical spells to be used without wands.

"We have to break it, with a spell that will scatter it. A weak _bombarda_ should suffice, but we have to all gather around Harry," Hermione instructed. "How's he doing Ena?"

"He's doing great!" Ena said in a high, cheerful voice, which clearly stated that he wasn't doing well at all. Only Harry in his current state wouldn't be able to pick up the falsity in her tone. She had pressed her jacket to a wound that had just appeared on his stomach, blood seeping through his shirt. There had only been blood from his mouth before, but now the wound on his stomach lead her to believe that it had been a curse that began with his stomach inside, indicating the blood from his mouth, and then the outside, the blood that was now leaking onto the floor. She had only been studying how to deal with injuries in depth for a few years and that was nothing like this. This was unbelievable, magic and the need for medicine. She didn't know what would happen next.

Hermione nodded, noticing the blood on Ena's hand that had come through her jacket. Hermione removed her own jacket and handed it to Ena, who pressed it against the wound. "Bill, any blood replenishing spells?"

"One, but it isn't too helpful, it's more of a blood removal to replace," Bill muttered, standing up he sat in front of Harry.

"Wait, don't you need to match up types? AB, B, A, or O?" Ena asked, quickly stopping him.

"Ena, it's magic," Bill said, reassuringly. Ena nodded. Bill touched his wand to the inside of his left elbow. He winced, digging it into his skin, hard. He held it there in silence for a short amount of time, before removing it. He then took Harry's arm and pushed his wand into the inside of his elbow, pushing it in. Harry seemed to not even feel it.

"There. It's not very much, but as much as I'm able to give," Bill said. "Ginny, you'll be next if need be."

"Let's hope not. Back then, there shouldn't be a spell against apperating around this place," Hermione pointed out.

"And I'll go for help," Bill offered.

"No, no offense, but you might scare someone," Ginny said with an apologetic smile.

"Who then?" Bill asked, looking around.

"Hermione, she's the only one who wouldn't have questions asked. She doesn't have relatives in the Wizarding World. There's no one to link her to before the nineties in the Wizarding World," Padma said, quickly. "That's aside from Ena of course, but she can't apparate and she's the only one of us that can take care of Harry."

"I can't believe we're doing this," Padma whispered.

"We'll be fine. It is the only way to get out of this place which we have to do unless we fancy dying," Hermione said. Ginny had been oddly quiet for the past few minutes, but Hermione said nothing about it.

"Is everybody ready?" Hermione asked.

"How are we doing this?" Neville asked.

"If we all get it on ourselves we'll be sent together," Hermione said.

"No, it has to do with the distribution of the particles. How about I handle that," Neville said, holding out his hand. "Will everyone get as close to Harry as possible?" he asked, politely, but nothing like the meek preteen he had been at one time. He had dropped most of his insecurities once his parents had been killed in the last attack of the Ministry. Everyone did as he instructed.

"On my count, Bill, have your wand at the ready," Neville said. "You break the glass. Three…"

Neville's wand hand was steady and held pointed directly at the hourglass in his palm. "Two," he said.

Ena covered Harry protectively, holding him tightly, but still keeping him in the path of the dust. If the group was going to be split up, she wouldn't leave Harry like this. She was going to take care of him. She kept pressure on the wound and held as hard as she could. She was turned awkwardly sideways, but it didn't bother her as long as she didn't lose him.

"ONE!" he shouted. Bill called, "Bombarda," his words synchronized with Neville's call of, "Distributus Equalitum!"

The world went black and swirled. Hermione gritted her teeth, grabbing Ginny's hand. Ginny was the only person she could see and it was scaring her to death.

She felt as if hours were passing in only a few moments as she clung to Ginny's hand. Suddenly felt something under her knees, where as before they had felt as if they were anchored to nothing as if she had been floating in nothingness. Luna was already there, slightly windswept, looking up at the moon as if she were in a daze again. There wasn't a roof; Hermione realized immediately which meant they weren't in the same place.

Hermione stood quickly, looking around. "Lumos Maxima!" she thought hard. There was a brilliant flash of light from her wand. It lit up what appeared to be the outside of a castle. She performed the spell again, seeming to have the exact same idea as Luna as her wand lit at the same time before fading.

"This is the right castle. We aren't too far away from them," Hermione said. "Find them, Harry at least and put up a red phoenix, bright red. Make sure to do it on sight. If a Phoenix Member doesn't recognize it as some kind of help signal from a phoenix member, then I will at least be able to come back and find you."

"Right, I've got it," Ginny nodded.

"Should we split up?" Luna asked, still staring up at the moon.

"No, stay together, but find Harry.

"Watch out for werewolves," Luna said.

"That's full?" Hermione asked, trying to see it through the clouds, but it looked as if Luna could see it easily or feel it somehow.

"Yes, it's full," Luna nodded, eerily.

"Right then, you have to hurry. If Ena's with him, it won't be helping much."

"Ginny!" came a loud and booming voice.

"Bill, we're here."

"My god, we've been here for over an hour," Bill said, running to them, and hugging Ginny immediately.

"Have you found Harry?"

"We haven't found him. We think he must have just gotten a smaller batch of the time-turner powder and ended up here later," Neville said. "It will keep him safe for longer. Padma already went for help."

"Fine, then Ginny and Luna go with Bill and Neville with me. Keep looking."

"No, new names," Neville interrupted. "We need aliases," Neville explained.

"The only names we're changing are last names," Bill explained. "Ginny and I are taking the name Amherst."

"Harry is going to be Emerson. Yours we decided could be Brown. Neville decided on Wilson. Luna is going to be Logan. Ena doesn't need to change and Padma is Patterson. All right?" Bill asked.

"Ginny and Bill Amherst, Harry Emerson, Hermione Brown, Neville Wilson, Luna Logan, Rowena Hunt, and Padma Patterson," Hermione said very quickly. I have it. Now, can we hurry?"

"Of course, but we'll have to track their path of travel. We can't just-" Neville began

"It's okay Harry, we landed. We're fine. We're doing great," a soft voice said.

Bill lit his wand turning it on the sound.

"When did you get here?" Bill asked, quickly.

"Good, it worked," she whispered. "Only a second ago."

Hermione raised her wand, and a burst of red light shot from it, going up quickly and transforming into a brilliant red Phoenix, sending an unearthly red glow over them, but it was enough for them to see what was happening.

"The phoenix… Dumbledore… Dumbledore…" Harry mumbled.

"How is he now?" Hermione asked, feeling as if she had asked this only a few minutes before.

"He'll live if we can get him somewhere quickly.

Suddenly there were whooshing sounds all around them, and flashes of black. There were cracks that signaled apparition.

"Padma?" Bill asked, quickly.

"Everyone move back, get away from him," came a sharp voice. A nurse in St. Mungos uniform appeared, walking swiftly towards them. Ena didn't move an inch, while everyone else got out of the way. She seemed to know that the nurse wouldn't want her going anywhere.

"Who are you?" the nurse demanded.

"I'm an untrained witch with some muggle medical training. He was bleeding internally, but most of that has stopped. It's his now external wound that is the main problem. His airway is fine now," Ena said quickly.

The nurse nodded. Ena moved Harry to lie on his back.

"James?" a voice from behind Ena muttered.

"James? No, his name's Harry," Hermione said, feigning confusion at the man's mistake, glad to have some hint of where they were. If James and Harry were so much alike in looks it had to be somewhere around 1975 or later. It was amazing how off her calculations had been: more than thirty years indeed. Neville had been right.

"Sorry… he just looks like someone I…"

"Is that important right now?" the nurse tittered at him.

"No, ma'am, sorry," he said, quickly.

"My word, who is it that did this? It's a terrible curse," the mediwitch said, as she removed the clothes that were trying to hold the blood.

"It was an attack, Madame. It was an attack from you-know-who," Hermione said.

"And you sent a Phoenix up," someone asked from behind Hermione. She turned and winced at the sight of none other that the two-week dead Mad-Eye Moody.

"Yes sir, that was me," Hermione said. "My friend Harry was on the ground and I know of Dumbledore's greatness. I thought we would get lucky and get help before my friend got back." It was now that Hermione noticed that Padma wasn't present. She looked at what was going on with Harry. Ena was nearly twitching to stop the blood that kept leaking from the wound, while the nurse paid barely any attention to that as she rummaged in her bag.

"Why was Voldemort attacking you?" Moody asked.

"I don't rightly know sir. He called Harry by that name, too. He called him James something and then he attacked us. We aren't trained to block the kinds of spells he used. We didn't have time to think. Those masks were everywhere. They were horrible, and then we were here. We didn't start out here. We were somewhere else. Can I ask where we are?"

"You are at the ruins of a muggle castle," Moody said, plainly.

"Where did you all come from? Where did you learn magic?"

"We were at a private school. Its location is secret. There is an initiation spell that keeps us from revealing anything about the school. It doesn't matter; the school and five of our instructors were destroyed by those, those things… It was destroyed because the school took muggleborns in," Hermione said, as shocked as everyone else that she was lying so simply, so easily, even taking into account in less than a second that Bill was too old to be a student so he was the sixth instructor. It was as if it was true and to Ginny and Neville, it seemed as if she was telling some truth, like they were being filled in of these happenings.

"Why didn't you immediately contact the ministry of magic?" Moody directed this question to Bill, holding a hand up to silence Hermione.

"Would you contact the ministry for matters as delicate as these? We accepted the unbreakable vow, why go to the ministry that would only ask questions that we cannot answer. We aren't even on their records. They wouldn't believe us. As one of their instructors, I wasn't about to put them in any danger," Bill lied just as easily.

"That's a nice job you've done," Moody said, sending a meaningful glance between him and Harry. Bill looked down. That actually had stung as he was the oldest and should have been looking after Harry during the fight that he got injured, but he had been preoccupied, protecting his perfectly able sister.

"Why are you untrained?" Moody growled at Ena, who looked at him, opening her mouth, but not saying anything.

"We found her; she used a shield to protect us. Accidental Magic," Ginny said quickly.

"I believe I asked her, not you," he said, sharply, turning his wand on her. Ena quickly looked back at what was happening with Harry, happy to see the mediwitch had finally stopped shuffling among her belongings and stopped the bleeding. She watched her pour various potions down Harry's throat and the place her wand to the wound.

"Besides, the ministry knows when any magic is performed," another man said. There were four of them total, not including the nurse. This was one of the ministry members.

"Not in places where magic is shielded from Ministry eyes. She was in the vicinity of our school when it happened," Bill said, matter-of-factly. Moody looked suspiciously at them all, his magical eye going every which way.

"You shall talk to Albus Dumbledore at St. Mungos. I will speak with him, but don't think for a minute that I believe a word that you have said here tonight. I will be keeping an eye on all of you," he said.

"He will have to be levitated to the ministry," the mediwitch said with finality, disapperating, abruptly.

"Do mediwitches always do that?" Ena asked, looking back at Moody.

"Generally, yes. All of you go to the ministry immediately, if not you friend will not be released from custody. You aren't arrested, just under suspicion, deep suspicion."

Hermione squelched the shivers that ran up and down her spine. She felt slightly sick to her stomach, but dealing with Moody for as long as she had taught her to keep her cool around him and to not give her away, after all, from the mouth of Alaster Moody himself, "Constant Vigilance."

"Dumbledore," Harry's weak cry rang in her ears. "We have to… Dumbledore…" he said as if he were a small child who had lost his best friend.

"He'll be slightly out of it for quite a while," Ena said. "Magic or not, he lost a lot of blood." The wizards seemed to accept that, but Moody had not missed Harry's words.

"St. Mungos, now," he ordered.

"Yes sir," Hermione said, bowing her head.

The ministry members all disappeared, the three aside from Moody apperated Harry. Moody was gone quickly, thank goodness.

"Does everyone remember names?" Bill asked. Everyone looked at Neville as if expecting him to pull out a list that the ministry would find.

"I remember all right?" Neville snapped. "I don't know how we're going to pull this off. Are we going to tell Dumbledore?"

There was a crack. "I told you, now!" Moody snapped, furiously. With that, they disapperated.

Hermione stood in the Ministry lobby, gaining quite a few looks. She glanced around and Bill had Ena wrapped tightly in his arms. She was glad he remembered that she wasn't trained to apparate because Hermione had certainly forgotten that little bit.

She supposed that they must look a fright especially with Ena absolutely drenched in blood, covering her arms. She rubbed her hands together frantically, just realizing how much blood she actually did have on her. It was absolutely against everything she knew to have blood on her own skin in any form. She couldn't get it off. She just kept rubbing.

"Hey," Bill snapped, trying to calm her. His voice became softer, "Hey, shhh, it's all right, Ena." He grabbed her face, before pulling her close to immobilize her hands behind him and hugging her tightly, while giving Ginny a meaningful look. Ginny took out her wand casting a quick cleaning charm.

"I've never actually seen that much blood, sure rugby is brutal, but not that wasn't the…" Ena mumbled against Bill's shirt. He stroked her hair for a moment, and then dipped his head to look her in the eye.

"It's fine. You did great. Because of you, Harry is going to be fine," Bill said, softly, squeezing her hand, before turning to look at the approaching wizard.

"Can we help you?" the man asked, curtly

"Sorry, we just have to go up to the hospital. We'll be out of your way," Hermione said, politely to the ministry official.

"Exactly, sorry, sir," Neville added.

"Ena, that's what happens in a war. There is blood. This is no less a brutal time. You're going to have to deal with that fact," Ginny said, slightly rudely.

"None of us really have to deal with anything do we? We just are. The future is written out. We are merely players in a great design," Luna explained.

"Luna, stop with the philosophical bullshit," Ginny growled, following Hermione towards the elevator with the others.

"Ginny, watch your mouth, understood? All of you; we stick together. If we're lucky we can fix what has happened. Pulling this won't help us the least bit, Ginny," Bill said.

"You sound like mom," Ginny said, disdainfully.

"Well somebody has to," Bill snapped, rubbing one of the many scars on his face from the attack. It was fading and he was now slightly recognizable as the old Bill Weasley, but he would never be the same after Fenrir Greyback had mutilated him.

"We can't break apart now, because you're not in a good mood, Ginny," Hermione said as they entered the elevator and it closed behind them.

"What do you know, you only lost two people; I lost seven!" Ginny shouted. The whole elevator went dead silent. Ginny's hand flew to her mouth. Hermione turned away.

"Say something like that again and you'll be on your own. You'll be lucky if your brother will even look after you," Neville said, very darkly; his voice was dead cold, being beyond fury.

"Everyone listen. We have all lost a lot. None of us have families, so we have to be a family. First, we must get through the ministry and Moody especially, and then we can get together and we can have a long talk about what we were going to do. I feel that it was fate that sent that time turner to us and that means that we're meant to be here. We have to do something before the Wizarding World truly is ruined; even if that means that we have to change everything. Damn it, don't you all get it? This isn't the time to fall apart!" Neville said passionately, surprising everyone in the elevator. Hermione jumped at Neville hugging him tightly.

"Let's just take baby steps Neville, before we talk about saving the world," Hermione whispered in his ear.

_What about the world today?_

_What about the place that we call home?_

_We've never been so many,_

_And we've never been so alone._

Please review unless you think it was that terribly horrible. Thanks for taking your own time to look at the story I have started.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I am extremely rusty with writing (nearly six months) and I hope you can bear with me. Please enjoy chapter two, more action to come in later chapters. I promise.

_You keep watching from you picket fence_

_You keep talking but it makes no sense_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are (we are)_

Neville lead the way into the hospital room outside of which quite a few aurors stood. Ginny and Hermione pushed past him at the sight of Harry awake and seeming quite responsive, especially with Moody looming over him. The white room was in great contrast to Moody's dark, dirty clothes, but more contrasted to the dark expression Moody wore.

"What exactly are you doing?" Bill demanded, storming forward to confront the man.

"I'm having a little chat with one of your students. Is there a problem?" Moody growled, threateningly, squinting with his good eye at Bill as his fake eye followed every move of the other members of the group.

"Actually there is. I am his legal guardian. If you have any questions for him, you are required by law to go through me," Bill fired back, sounding genuinely furious. It's amazing how easily one can lie if put in the proper position to lie

"But none of you are in the records, therefore, our laws don't apply to you," Moody said, matter-of-factly.

"Actually, that is completely a completely unfounded not to mention idiotic statement. The law clearly states that any person of Wizarding blood is equal before the law and Muggles are protected before the codes of 1872 and all Muggle Protection Acts established since that date. Therefore, you have completely violated my Harry's rights as a person, and as a wizard. You could be sent to Azkaban for three weeks for such a crime. I'm sorry to tell you that we are not completely stupid," Hermione explained.

"Indeed," Moody said, actually taken aback by Hermione's knowledge of the law, not that he'd actually let that show.

"It's fine. He hasn't asked me anything," Harry said, softly, his voice rough.

Ginny and Hermione sat on either side of him. "Well it's good that the time-tiddlerslas didn't get you," Luna mumbled to herself.

Neville chuckled at that one, trying not to flat-out laugh at the crazy girl as she stood there, seeming to sway in the breeze; as wispy as she was it fit with her personality.

Bill said nothing, but stared, locked in a glaring contest with the great Mad-Eye Moody at the height of his power. It would have terrified most wizards to have to face up to such a great wizard, but Bill had faced many "great" things and wizards were the worst of his fears

"You said, Headmaster Dumbledore would be present and available to speak with," Bill asked.

"He will be; when he is available he will be available to you," Moody snapped. "It seems you have yourself a bright batch of students. I hope your story holds up against the great Albus Dumbledore."

"Our story is truth sir. Our home was destroyed and we were forced to seek refuge. We were surrounded by death eaters so we fought, and then we ended up where you found us at that castle," Bill said, seriously. It wasn't completely fabricated. They had fought, they had been surrounded, their home was destroyed, they were seeking refuge, and they ended up at that castle.

Harry sunk tiredly into the bed, trying not to think about how many times he'd been confined to this Hospital before they had finally been cut off from the ministry. He looked at Neville, thinking back to the last battle that they fought, trying to save the ministry. Even Gilderoy Lockhart did his part before the end. Nearly everyone in St. Mungos had been killed, the nurses included unless they agreed to join Voldemort. Even Lockhart refused in the end, not even to save his own skin as backwards and shocking as that was.

Harry tried not to think of the many people who had been killed. It was too sad to think back on that. He found Hermione's eyes and smiled slightly, reaching to squeeze her shoulder. She had taken her first blow when the Arthur and Molly Weasley had been killed, but then she nearly fell apart when Ron was one of the small band of order members who had caught wind of the attack on Hermione's parent's home and gone to save them. They group had been too late and had been slaughtered by death eaters. Ron had been killed by who other than Ludo Bagman, who turned to Lord Voldemort, the second he got wind of the rebirth. It turned out that Bagman was a good liar and quiditch really was Ron's end.

He looked at poor Ena, who within forty-eight hours of meeting him lost her parents, her home and her whole life, not to mention she was now decades earlier in time. She kept rubbing her hands, self-consciously. Her skin was pale and covered in a layer of sweat. Her hair was covered in dirt and her knees had grass-stains. All of this was because he had to be the dolt who got her all tied up in this mess.

Ginny and Neville were both complicated stories. Ginny's was also a rather touchy matter. Neither Harry nor Ginny held a grudge against the other after their short-lived relationship. Harry couldn't ever see going back to that relationship. There was just too much history to attempt to reconcile. It was as if since Ron died Ginny had filled in a part of that gaping hole, becoming best friends with Hermione and Ron and then Neville had been thrown into the mix. Neville found the Order after his parents' death as had many DA members. They had all fought together in the final battle before Voldemort's complete overtaking of Wizarding Europe. The four of them had been practically inseparable for many months now. Harry didn't know if he would have been able to stand it without them.

His eyes jerked to the door as a rasped, "Moody… Moody!" was heard. He perked his ears up to hear what the man was saying to Moody.

"Someone at the bloody ministry sent for the Potters to pick up a distant cousin or some nonsense like that. Joseph Potter arrived five minutes ago with his son James."

"Bloody ministry fools. Arnold, make sure they don't say a word. "Junior Crouch!" he called out the door. "Make yourself useful and make sure there is complete silence in this room.

"I'm on important business for my father and you'd better respect that," an aloof voice rang in Harry's ears, churning his blood. Neville's eyes went stone-cold and he nearly pulled out his wand, but Hermione sent him a quick look that went unnoticed by that idiot ministry-member Arnold.

"Your father is making you about as useful as a blunt toothpick," Moody growled. "This is high-priority. It's about the Sky Phoenix. Dumbledore should be here soon."

"The Phoenix," the sandy-haired man who entered pondered. Neville was forcibly pushed down into a chair by Bill. Neville's hands clenched down on the arms of the chair as if trying to crush it.

"So, you are the culprits who sent up that joke of a signal," Crouch Jr. said.

"That signal was no joke. It would have stayed above us for an hour if Moody had not ended the spell. Besides, it stands for more than a greasy little slime ball like you could ever understand," Hermione said passionately, her hazel eyes flashing with anger.

"Your spell could have brought death eaters to your throats and you think it not a joke, little girl?" Crouch Jr. questioned, openly patronizing her.

"My students are well equipped to deal with the dark arts of which I'm sure you are ignorant, are you not?" Bill said, threateningly, stepping in front of Hermione, nearly pushing her back onto Neville's lap.

"I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Mr.?"

"_Professor_ Amherst, thank you," Bill said, adopting a snooty air about him.

"Well, it's as if it is a party, yet I know none of you," came a cheerful voice in the doorway. Harry froze, terrified to move, to look up. It was as if he looked that would make it all fade away and it wouldn't be real. His love and loyalty to Albus Dumbledore was his life and his life's ambition. To see the grandfather he never had would be like dying and coming back to life. It would be too wonderful. It would be… too unreal. Harry raised his eyes slowly. His world came down upon him. He felt like crying. He felt like screaming. All the pain of the last few years came back to his heart and the messenger was the one person who had managed to keep the Wizarding world together. He was the only one who had ever made Harry doubt himself and the only one to ever make Harry feel as if he was part of something as if he were important.

Ginny was the first to drag her eyes away from Dumbledore and by that time realized that the Ministry official and Barty Crouch Jr. were gone and only a curious old man stood in their wake. She looked at Harry and saw his eyes watering up. She sat next to him, hugging him tightly. Hermione stood beside Neville and Bill glanced stood before the others, a sort of voice of the people of sorts if that made any sense

"Sorry, Headmaster, but we had no one else to go to. You are all we know of this world…" Bill's voice broke through everyone's awe and shock. It wasn't as if they didn't know that they would see Dumbledore, actually it was the opposite, but knowing you were going to see someone as great as Dumbledore and actually coming face to face with him was a completely different tale.

Bill's eyes went to Harry who nodded, then his sister and ended at Neville; all these faces were telling him what he had known from the beginning. They would have to tell Dumbledore at some point, but was this the right point? Bill knew that Dumbledore was great, but even under the greatness of such a hero and leader, there was always suspicion. Moody was an obnoxious example of that fact.

This moment moved as if time itself had stopped. His heart seemed to stop beating. They were all looking at him, pleading for him to decide. He looked at Hermione and ended at Ena. She looked down, shaking her head so slightly that he didn't think it had happened for a moment. He thought for another moment. She was the only non-influenced person in this group. She was the only one who didn't know whether or not Dumbledore was good or bad. All she knew was that the wizards liked him, but she was the only person who could think without prejudice in the situation and she was saying no.

Did no mean that Bill should lie for them? Did no mean that lying was out of the question? Bill was being driven mad at all the thoughts running through his head.

He looked at each of their faces again, thinking finally about Padma. What would get Padma released from Ministry custody? Would even Dumbledore believe what he was saying? Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but a soft, almost timid-sounding voice broke in. Bill's slow-motion world shattered with the utterance of the new and small voice that rang through the room.

Ena had stepped in for him. Whether she was right or not, she was the one stepping up and they would live by whatever words she spoke. Bill felt all the weight come off his shoulders in a second and his eyes went to the shy Rowena Hunt who stepped up to say what had to be said.

_You wash your hands to come unclean_

_You fail to recognize me and it makes me think_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are (we are)_

So, I may not be the best writer in the world, but I shortened my chapter and I think this addresses more of the important things in it than the one before, or maybe I should have broken it into a few chapters. Not much has happened, I'm afraid, but things will start to pick up soon. I promise and thank you very much for taking an interest in my story.

To my one and only dear reviewer (Ocean Dreamer): I haven't written in quite a while and I'm a bit rusty. I do apologize for the rambling nature of it and the painful… well everything else. I'd be very happy if you decided to stick with my story. It's always good to have a reviewer from the beginning to the end.

If anyone who has read my earlier work by my account: Beware the Noble Heart or GreekNelo (Not that they'd be reading this, all the pairing and summary and story structure are different), they would agree that this is weak, but that was all pre-halfbloodprince and Snape is now dead to me. I have to get used to this Snape is bad thing or I will have some serious future problems.


	3. Chapter 3

We are picking up where Ena answers for the wizards, if that doesn't ring a bell, go back to the last paragraph of the last chapter:

_Ena had stepped in for him (Bill). Whether she was right or not (lying to Dumbledore), she was the one stepping up and they would live by whatever words she spoke. Bill felt all the weight come off his shoulders in a second and his eyes went to the shy Rowena Hunt who stepped up to say what had to be said._

And here I continue it…

_It's all about power_

_Then takin__g control_

_Breaking the rule_

_Breaking the soul_

_They suck us dry till there's nothing left_

_My oh my, My oh my_

"Sir, my friends are well learned in magic while I know very little. I know that you are a sort of icon to them and that if you were to just listen to our story, you would be able to help us. Professor Amherst only took me into their group out of the kindness of his heart. I've come to know much from my few days with them. They are all kind and caring and though they were overlooked by the Wizarding World, they found a way to make their way back into this society. If you give us a chance, I'm sure we could help you with anything you ever need. We just… we have no place to go," she said, her eyes watering. She was thinking more of her family, her little sister, and her parents. She really didn't have anywhere to go.

Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and she sat on the edge of the bed. "You are Professor Amherst, then young man?" Dumbledore said, indicating this question to Bill, who nodded.

"Could I speak with you?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Of course sir," Bill nodded.

They stayed in that room for what seemed like hours upon hours, but really was half of one, before someone spoke.

Luna mumbled, eerily, "I wonder what they're talking about."

"Don't we all?" Neville muttered.

"How is this even going to work?"

"We just need to find our places and then gain trust to get into the order and then we can fight them, all of them. We can change nearly everything. We can change anything that won't hurt our future," Hermione said.

"Yet, everything has the potential to completely ruin our future, Hermione, us being here could be making it worse right now," Ginny pointed out.

Suddenly the door opened and Bill came in with a very tiny smile on his face, followed by a beaming headmaster Dumbledore.

"Now, let's see if we can fit you into the school year. First term begins in two weeks. Your professor says that you should be able to pick up from anywhere, perhaps our seventh year class, after we arrange for your OWLs. Your professor will be at the school, assisting the staff and helping our newest student of magic, Miss Ena," Dumbledore said.

"Thank you headmaster," Harry said, for all of them.

"Well of course. That is what I am here for, to accommodate young wizards who need to fill their heads with magic. If you will excuse me, however, I must deal with a disgruntled parent who believes he has a nephew around the ministry somewhere," Dumbledore said, smiling at Harry.

"Bill, we don't have money for books or to pay St. Mungos or for robes. We have no money for anything," Hermione said, softly.

"What are we going to do about that?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know… I… I mean I could apply for a loan from Gringotts, but I'm not sure that we can even…"  
"No, I have money. My family has a safe in Little New Farnley. It is locked tightly, a safe within a safe within a safe. My family never trusted banks and they have had this hold for nearly two-hundred years. It was hidden in 1809 by my great-great-great-grandfather," she explained. It's below what is left of the old family mansion. My father gave me this when I was five and made me memorize all fifteen numbers in sequence," Ena whispered, pulling a chain from around her neck. It had a key on the end, a simple silver, rather old-looking key that had a bit of rust on the tip.

"Ena, I don't know if even a family fortune will help us enough to all attend Hogwarts. It is expensive," Bill said.

"My father estimated it near five-million pounds. I may not dress richly, but my family is indeed wealthy," she said, softly.

"Ena, what if your family needs that in the future," Hermione said, breathlessly. "That is a lot of money, nearly one-million galleons."

"Well, I'm the last member of my family. It is my fortune now, because I am all that is left," Ena said, softly. "I want to survive and without all of you, I don't have a chance," she said.

"We'll have to open a Gringotts bank for you then. It is the safest place to store something on earth," Bill said.

"All right," she nodded. "We have to get there first. Where exactly are we?"

"We're in London, or… we're just below London," Bill said.

"We need to get to New Farnley," Ena said.

"Yes, we do," Bill said.

"What did you say to Professor Dumbledore to make him believe us?" Hermione asked.

"That is something that you don't need to know," Bill said, mysteriously.

"So, New Farnley?" Bill asked.

"I'm sure there's a fireplace in that mansion. We just need to open it for the day. Who should we go to for that? They won't let any of us apply there, seeing as we aren't Wizarding Citizens," Bill pointed out.

"Dad," Ginny whispered, her eyes watering.

"Gin," Harry whispered. "She's right."

"Yes, but I don't know if that is such a…" Bill too had tears in his eyes.

"Bill… he's all we have with connections enough to open a muggle fireplace to floo," Hermione said, taking her closed-off practical voice. "Neville, Ginny, Luna and I will stay here with Harry and wait to see if we get Padma back. You and Ena can go and take care of it."

"Hermione… I don't know if I can even…" Bill trailed off.

"You're going to have to sometime Bill. He's not dead. He's here, he's alive. We're all going to have to face the people we've lost."

"Except for you and Ena… don't leave that part out. They're muggles," Ginny snapped, quickly. Hermione's eyes

"Ginny, stop it!" Neville yelled. Everyone looked at him, except Ginny who was glaring.

"Now you are just like Voldemort then? Attacking people because they're muggleborn. Just because they aren't a part of our world, means that they have it worse. While we get to reunite with those we lost, they'll never see them again. Because now, they're the only ones who have really lost people," Neville said, not even so much as stuttering when he said Voldemort's name. "Don't be a child. We all have to grow up now. We can't rely on Bill or Dumbledore or anyone but each other. Why can't you understand that? All we have is each other."

Bill placed a gentle hand on Ena's shoulder, steering her from the room. He felt he had to leave, before he said something or did something that was regrettable. Neville really had grown into a man. He was as calculating as he was caring and as strong as he used to be weak. He was changed, as had everyone. The second war had brought everyone to their knees. It had made everyone change, but Neville seemed to be the only that he could think of that had taken such a drastic change for the better.

With that in mind, he realized as he walked through the halls, faintly recognizing the younger, happier faces, that he remembered being old and tired, that the nine of them were different. They were different not from the people they used to be, but from those around them, who were in a war, almost as terrible as the one they had been in.

They all stared. They gawked at him and he subconsciously raised a hand to his face. His face which had once been so dashing, so handsome was marred and beaten. He was recognizable, but a sort of recognizable that Moody was from when he was twenty. It was alarming how things changed.

He suddenly remembered Ena, on whose arm he still had a hand. She must be the most terrified of them all. She was shivering to give testament to that fact. She was terrified because not only did she have no family, but she barely knew them. To add to that, she knew this world even less than she knew them. He squeezed her arm, not letting go, but giving her a comforting look and then pulling her close to walk against his side.

"Don't worry, Ena. We can take care of you," he said. "It will be much better when we get to Hogwarts. We just have to get to Hogwarts first," Bill whispered.

They stepped into the crowded elevator to take them to his father and looked away from the stares of the people around them. Bill finally raised his head and looked a man, who was staring disapprovingly at him, square in the eye and asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

Ena giggled and they all looked away quickly, embarrassed with themselves. Bill smiled down at Ena and they stepped off the elevator onto the floor that would inevitably lead to a very awkward situation.

_What about the world today?_

_What about the place that we call home_

_We've never been so many_

_And we've never been so alone..._

There, short, I know, but I thought I'd get it up before Ocean Dreamer got too impatient with me. Thank you two for reviewing and for the many hits I got, though, I think I scared everyone off with my first chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Yes I'm back and yes once again my writing has gone rusty from disuse. I'm maturing quick as everyone is I'm sure, and suddenly I felt the need for a heavy story to take on. I need something to fill my mind other than my own life. You can only take so much at a time. I hope you enjoy this. If I wasn't back writing it, I'd probably be singing terribly Emo songs about bills and gas prices. No one wants that so I'm going to write some more.

PS for all you Color of Power fans… which is of course my better story… I do plan on continuing it, I'm just having some trouble coming up with the bravery to face it. It is a very dark story and it is more well-written than I'm up to right now. I think I'll have to fix up my writing before I take another crack at it.

They reached the door to Arthur Weasley's office, a door that Bill recognized painfully well. He stared at it. Ena looked back behind her at him. He had turned to look at the wall behind him. She saw pain on his face when he faced her again, tears in his eyes. He stumbled backwards, leaning against the wall. He sat beside the place where he had found his fathers body what seemed like years and years before. Ena knelt in front of him. "Bill, you don't have to face him now. I will do it."

"Ena, you don't have to do that," Bill began, but she shook her head turning away from him. The pain in his voice had told her that this was something that she did have to do. She knocked on the door lightly. When there was no answer she opened it a bit and let herself in, closing it behind her.

Bill felt so stupid. The humor of the elevator and the bravery he had felt before stepping off of it had disappeared the moment he saw that corridor where so much blood had been spilt. He stared at the door, hoping that Ena could talk with his father, make him see that he needed to help them.

Ena heard the door click behind her and looked up at the man who had stopped in his steps. "Hello," he said, taking the pencil from between his teeth and sliding it behind his ear.

"Sorry… I knocked," Ena said, embarrassed a bit.

"Didn't hear it," the man said, brushing it off. "Bah, doesn't matter. My names Arthur Weasley and you are?" he asked, squeezing through a tiny space between his small desk and one of the many large filing cabinets that lined the room. Papers flew through the air, putting themselves away and taking others out to place on the small crowded desk.

"I'm Rowena Hunt. Um, my friends and I…"

"Oh yes. Dumbledore was just here. He asked me to offer you my fireplace. He said that there would be more of you," Arthur said. "In any case, he told me that you are from a muggle family. What do you do with a tellyviseron?" he asked. "I find the device quite fascinating."  
"Er, I… a television? You watch things on it…" Ena said, taken aback by the strange question.

"What sort of things?" he asked.

There was a roar that seemed to be flames. Ena's eyes followed the smiling man as he moved behind his desk to look to the right of it. She moved to see that there was a small fireplace stuck between two large cabinets. "Arthur Weasley, you are late," a woman said, in an irritated voice.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. Excuse me Miss Rowena, but I must be going. Tell your friends that they can use the fireplace. They can feel free. Dumbledore will have linked it to New Farley by now," Arthur said. Ena gasped as he disappeared with a crack. She jumped backwards in shock.

The man had been very kind and energetic. He had been there in an instant, rambling on and then gone in an instant. It suddenly struck her. How had either Dumbledore or Arthur Weasley known where they were going?

She turned carefully and opened the door to see Bill pacing back and forth as if she had left him out there for hours not just a few minutes. She looked down the corridor to see the others standing at the end of it. She turned her eyes back to Bill.

"The fireplace is linked. Mr. Weasley has left for home," Ena said, not mentioning that she hadn't had to tell Mr. Weasley where they were headed. That would be another burden they didn't need to know.

Bill beckoned to the others, who came, Padma now back with the group, looking quite paler than her normal self. "We're going with you," Hermione said. "Myself and Neville."

Ena nodded her head. Padma, Ginny, Luna and Bill were obviously staying behind so as not to leave Harry. They turned back towards the elevator, after bidding them farewell. Ena noticed that neither Bill, nor Ginny looked at the door through the goodbyes.

Ena felt Neville's hand on her arm, leading her into the room, Hermione right behind. "Now, you throw some of this in and said 'New Farley' very clearly, shouting it would be the safest idea," Hermione said, holding out some of the floo powder. "Neville?"

Neville took some and threw it into the flame, stepping precariously into the fire and turning saying very clearly, "New Farley." Ena nearly jumped out of her skin when Neville disappeared. She stared at the fireplace, throwing some floo powder in and stepping in with Hermione's instruction.

Hermione listened closely and was proud when Ena disappeared having said the name perfectly. She followed after, confident and careful. When she got through she saw Ena holding her right elbow sensitively. "Are you all right?" Hermione asked.

"I'll be fine," Ena said. "This is the place. My grandfather took me here," Ena said, looking around the room, carefully.

"It's just a small one room," Hermione said, frowning.

"This is the place. My grandfather said that if I ever needed something from the vault, I would come in and I would know what to do," Ena said. "He never told my father about this. It was our secret."

"My father searched most of his life and never found it," Ena explained.

"So what do you have to do?" Hermione asked.

"I was supposed to know," Ena muttered, looking down. She spotted something on the floor, a tiny speck of blue. She looked up and directly in front of her a large blue rug was hung. She walked to it and pressed her hand to it.

"An eagle," Hermione muttered. "Ravenclaw." An eagle was embroidered in a bronze color on the rug.  
"That wasn't there before," Neville frowned.

"A concealment charm," Hermione said.  
Ena ran her fingers along the edges of the satin fabric, looking back at the small speck of blue on the ground. She walked to it, picking it up. It was a simple thin piece of fabric. She slid it between her fingers looking back at the rug on the wall. She dropped the piece of fabric walking to the rug.

She swept it aside, seeing a small indent in the shape of a small hand. She placed hers into it and her hand sunk was engulfed by the wall. "Grab onto me," Ena said. Neville grabbed one shoulder, and Hermione placed her hand on the other. Ena winced as the wall reached her elbow that she had banged in the fireplace, but in a few moments the rest of her was in the wall and the pressure disappeared, leaving Hermione and Neville standing on either side of her. She looked at each of the blank walls. It was so bare in here, so empty.

"There's nothing here," she mumbled.

"You're supposed to be able to see it though, right?" Neville asked. "Just keep looking Ena."

"He always said that everything was where you least expected it to be. A door wouldn't just open before me. I would have to break outside the box and think about the rest. I would have to work to find opportunities," Ena mumbled. She looked down at the ground running her hands along the edges where the walls met the ground. She frowned. "Neville can you give me a boost."  
"I'll do it," Hermione said, brandishing her wand. Ena had almost forgotten that the two of them had those.

Hermione waved her wand skillfully and Ena felt her grey shoes lift from the ground. She suddenly saw it. It was a sort of window. There was a door on the other side. She placed her hand to it. A small opening shown. She reached around her neck, recognizing the shape of an eagle, wings spread. She removed her necklace, looking at the bronze eagle that dangled from it. She pressed the eagle into the glass and it sunk in. Gravity seemed to turn upside down. Hermione and Neville cried out as she fell through the glass to the other side and suddenly they weren't there anymore.

She looked up at the door, rubbing her head and left shoulder that had taken most of the fall. It was a simple wooden door, with a silver handle. Written on the wall beside it however a warning was written.

Ena read it aloud. "You must be blood and you must be needy. Just be sure that you aren't greedy. This handle will tell, it will decide. If you are smart and you are true, it will guide."

She frowned staring at the handle that was now giving off a slight glow. She reached her hand out and gripped it carefully, turning it. It opened into a large room. Sparkling gold, silver, and bronze coins shined at her. She didn't understand any of this. This looked like a lot of money, but it wasn't in real money. She recognized the silver one that Harry had had.

Her heart began to race as her eyes fell upon a small table. A carefully sliced sandwich sat on the table and next to it was a tall glass of what looked like water. She sat at the table staring at it. There was a piece of paper sitting, corner beneath the plate. "I knew you were coming, granddaughter." She realized that her grandfather really had been a wizard. He was even around now. She recognized the handwriting.

She saw a bag on a hook beside her. It was blue with a bronze eagle, quite like the rug. The bag was velvet. She lifted it up and quickly filled it… mostly with the gold coins, knowing instinctively that gold was worth the most. Then she filled with some silver and then a few of the bronze ones. It was a large bag and she supposed it would suffice. It was heavy but she lifted it up anyways. She looked back at the mess of coins. She didn't seem to have even made a dent. She hefted the big bag and carried it to the door. When she placed a handle on it, she was instantly standing in the center of the original room, Neville and Hermione gawking at her.

"My grandfather is a wizard. I think Dumbledore knows him," Ena said.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore… he had this fireplace connected before I even went to Mr. Weasley's office. There was a bag waiting for me in that room. There was sandwich and some water waiting for me there. He left a note…" Ena said.

"You aren't even born yet?"

"My grandfather named me. It was significant. My mother always complained that she hadn't been allowed to name me, but even my father hadn't contradicted my grandfather's decision and my father hated me and my grandfather. He must have foreseen this. A seer or something. Are there seers in the magical world?" Ena asked.

Neville looked at Hermione who looked right back at Neville. "Yes," Hermione murmured.

"Can we find somewhere to sleep now? I'm really tired," Ena said, sounding very small and alone. Her mind was reeling. Her grandfather had been dead for nearly five years. She managed to make it to the fireplace and to repeat what Hermione told her to say. Soon she was in a large bed, Luna on one side, Padma on the other, sleeping peacefully.

Hermione closed the door behind herself, leaving the girls to their sleep. She walked down the stairs to see Bill sitting at a small table in the corner. "There is an ancient Hunt bloodline. It's even in father's records. Why she wasn't taught magic if she was part of that line is beyond me. Her father must have been a squib," Bill said.

"That does make sense," Hermione agreed. "She has barely spoken to anyone since she was at the vault," she added seriously.

"Well, she's had a rough few days, hasn't she?" Bill muttered. "She lost her parents, not much of a loss, but just the same. Her sister was killed as well. That was a blow enough. Now her grandfather who I assume has been dead for years is still alive in this time and part of the wizarding world. She's in the same boat as all of us. I wonder how this all came together. How did we find her or vice-versa?"

"She saved us out of instinct, but it couldn't have been lucky place lucky time, could it?" Hermione asked.

"Not only is the family ancient, but you saw that shielding spell she used. That was an extremely powerful spell that most wizards can't use and she did it automatically. She is powerful," Bill said.

"What are we going to do now? Dumbledore probably knows what's going on especially if he knows Ena's grandfather," Hermione said.

"Well he's still letting us come to Hogwarts. Let's not test his trust. We are going to do exactly as we planned. We have to buy what we'll need. This bag is a small fortune. We'll be very well off. Money is no longer an issue. Now all we have to worry about is everyone's mental and emotional condition. I mean, I couldn't bring myself to go into dad's office. What about Neville, Luna, Ginny, and Padma? We've all lost our parents. It's hard to face, but we're all going through the same thing and we'll all have to face it again."  
"Eyes open," Hermione said, softly. "This is a new world. Those who have lost loved ones… that loss was only a dream. Relationships won't be the same but they will still be there," Hermione said.

"Except for you," Bill whispered, concerned eyes on her.

"Don't worry about me. We have to worry about the others," Hermione said.

Neville took a seat beside Hermione, across from Neville. "Harry's asleep finally," Neville said. Hermione nodded. "He's on a potion for the pain, and they said he'll be able to move around in the morning. For now he has to stay upstairs."

They sat in silence for a while, all three lost in their own thoughts. All three were in somber moods. The innkeeper appeared in front of them, placing a cup in front of each of them. "Two butterbeers and a fire whiskey… on the house. You look like you need it."

They all looked up. "Thank you," Hermione said, emphatically.

"Hey, night after night, you see the ones who've been through a lot. Sometimes all you need is someone to help you out," the innkeeper said. Hermione stared at his back.

"He doesn't know how right he is," Bill said, turning the glass between his fingers, the steaming fire whiskey never seeming so inviting as he lifted it to his lips and drank it all the way down. It burned even more than the pain in his heart.

Thank you for reading. I hope you've caught up and that you like it. Please review


	5. Chapter 5

The days flew. Bill did the shopping for everyone when the letters of acceptance came, not wanting anyone to have to face someone they might not want to too early. Ena had received her first wand. He was amazed to see the world around him, as different as it really was. He had passed many he recognized without even a word. A young man who looked a lot like Harry had made him stop once, but he had kept going. His eyes narrowed with every traitor he saw and it was surprising how many there were, walking jollily through Diagon Alley no less.

When the time came to go to the school, Bill felt terrible about leaving the others to ride the train without him. He had taken them to diagon alley. They had broken into two smaller groups that would draw less attention from the student body. Hermione, Padma, and Harry were together. Luna, Ena, Neville, and Ginny were in the other group.

Bill watched the train take off with apprehensiveness. They were on their own now. They had not seen anyone the recognized yet, but he knew many that they would probably meet on their own. He prayed they would be able to take care of each other.

Harry, Hermione, and Padma were the first unlucky victims. They had chosen their compartment carefully. It was near the back, isolated from the rest. They had unfortunately chosen badly.

Hermione had unpacked a school book; Harry was clutching a book about quidditch that Bill had gotten for him at a second-hand store. Padma and Hermione were pouring over the spells in the school book while Harry sat on his own in the corner, switching between spacing out and reading. Hermione snuck glances up at Harry, who sat across from them.

A few minutes into the ride, the door slid open. A dark-haired boy looked up and then turned to leave at the sight of Harry. Hermione recognized the greasy-haired boy instantly. Harry's eyes flared with utter fury. "No, come on in. There's room enough."

"Hermione," Harry snapped viciously. Hermione sent a foot to Harry's shin. She detested the man as much as he did, but maybe they could make a difference.

"You look…"  
"Like some guy named James… ya I know. Everyone keeps telling me," Harry growled, harshly.

"I'm Hermione. What's your name," Hermione said, forcing out a nice tone of voice.

"Severus Snape," he mumbled sitting down in the corner very close to the door.

"It's good to meet you Severus," Hermione said. Padma scooted closer to Hermione a bit. Harry proceeded to glare at Severus over his book.

Their door slid open again a few moments later. An unfamiliar face peeked in. They took one look at Snape and left quickly. Harry had a dark sneer on his face. "Read your book, Harry," Hermione hissed, dangerously. Harry looked at her then at glimpsing her angry look looked down at his book.

Luna, Ena, Neville, and Ginny were in a compartment quite near to the front of the train. Ginny was teaching Ena a few standard spells. It was going well. Ena was a natural. She was as quick at learning as Ginny was and it had progressed well throughout the morning. Ena had successfully learning four new spells by the time the trolley came by. Ginny had used some of the money Bill had distributed to each of them to buy each of them a treat. Ena practiced carefully the spells she had learned, _Wingardrium Leviosa_, _Stupefy_, _Enervate_, and the spell to turn a match into a toothpick.

Ena was currently throwing a stupefy at the door when of course someone with perfect timing opened it. A young man froze in place before dropping to the ground.

"Oops," Ena squeaked.

"What'd ya do that for?" a voice snapped, outside the door, chuckling a bit. "Oi, Remus get up," a black boot nudged the fallen boy. Ginny gasped air into her lungs at the sight before her. She instantly recognized Sirius Black, then the boy he was kicking, Remus Lupin.

Sirius waved his wand sharply, doing a wordless spell. Remus looked up, eyes meeting Ena's. She blushed furiously. "I'm sorry. I was only practicing," Ena said.

Sirius chuckled. "Constant vigilance Remus, constant vigilance," he growled in a very raspy voice into Remus' ear as the boy stood, brushing himself off.

"What are you two dolts doing?" a voice demanded.

"Jamesie boy, our Remus just walked himself into a stupefy, courtesy of this lovely lady," Sirius said.

"Well, Remus, you couldn't have been jinxed by a prettier one," James Potter said. Ginny was at a loss for words. If Ena's face was red before, it was a tomato now. Neville's hand on her arm kept her from fainting on the spot.

"You boys need anything?" Neville asked.

"We were just looking for a compartment. Don't mind them. They do that to all girls, not just your girlfriend," Remus said.

Ginny burst into a fit of giggles. "Neville… Ena…" Ginny roared with laughter now. Luna was unfazed by the entire incident. She sat reading a magazine upside-down, smiling a bit eerily.

Sirius had a devilish smile on his face, eyes on Ginny, who snorted a bit as she calmed down. "So who are all of you?" Sirius asked. "You're definitely older than eleven," he said.

"I'm Ginny. This is Neville, Rowena or Ena, and that right there is Luna," Ginny introduced.

"Why are you headed to Hogwarts?" James asked. Ginny's face grew dark and her eyes turned downwards.

"Our school was destroyed," Neville said.

"Oh, Dumbledore told us about you," Remus said. "Weren't there supposed to be more of you?"

"Harry, Hermione, and Padma are in another compartment," Ena said, sitting down.

"What happened to your school?" Sirius asked.

"You-know-who destroyed it, because we let in muggleborns," Neville said.

James stepped in and sat down. Sirius and Remus followed in suit. They sat across from the four new students. "You're Gryffindors?" Ginny asked, trying to drown out the sadness she felt and the tension that hung in the room.

"Yep, James here's quidditch captain and Head of House," Sirius said.

"Really? I'm interested in playing quidditch this year," Ginny said. "I'm a keeper. One of our other friends… Harry. He's an amazing seeker."

"James is the seeker. He's the best," Sirius said.

"Harry's a great beater too. He can hold his own at chaser too. I may not be as good as him, but I'm good myself," Ginny said.

"No offense but it will be hard for a girl to make the team this year. You'll have a better chance on one of the other teams. We have a team of all seventh years," James said.

"Ten sickles I'm better than your keeper and that I'm in Gryffindor," Ginny said, sticking out her hand.

"Ginny, you don't even have ten sickles," Neville hissed.

"Well, I don't plan on losing," Ginny said.

"We'll figure something out if she loses I'm sure," Sirius said. James shook Ginny's hand.

"Why are you just getting a compartment now anyways?" Ginny asked.

"Someone's girlfriend kicked us out of our first compartment," Sirius said, looking pointedly at James.

"James and I could have stayed. It was you that she kicked out," Remus told him, smirking.

They went on like that for a few hours. When the sky outside darkened, they took turned getting into robes, Neville first, followed by Ena, Ginny, and Luna. The Marauders had migrated somewhere else.

"Ena!" a voice shouted. Ena stood quickly. She rushed to the door, pushing it open. The train jerked to a halt. "Ginny! Ena!" the same voice shouted.

"That's Padma," Neville said.

Ena took off running down the hallway, dodging the people who were stepping out of their compartments.

The door was wide open when she got to it. She saw Harry, lying on the ground. "It's bad," Hermione said when she saw Ena above them.

"Is he injured?" Ena asked.

"No, it's not physical. He dropped to the ground and started shaking. I think it's his scar," Hermione said.

Ena checked him over quickly. It was true that wasn't an injury, but it was physical. "He's going into shock," she said.

Ena didn't know any spells to help this, but she acted as any medical muggle would. She could care for that. The medical classes she had been taking in high school assisted in that. She felt a chill come over her however. "Dementors," Hermione growled. "Harry wake up! Harry, there are dementors!" She pushed her way out into the hallway. "Can anyone perform a full patronus charm?" she shouted.

"Everyone who can, stay in the hall. The rest need to go into their compartments," she called.

There was a moment of silence then arguing, before a loud voice overpowered the others. "You heard her! Move it!" a very loud voice shouted. Ena silently thanked Sirius for his loud voice.

"Get going!" a second voice joined the first. Ena looked back down at Harry. She felt a strange person standing above her. She looked up to see the black eyes of a rather creepy boy staring back at her.

Harry sat up, groaning with the effort. "I have to help them," he said.

"You can't Harry," Ena said.

"Someone stopped it," Harry said. He looked up. "It was you."  
"I didn't do anything," Snape growled, but his expression told a different story.

Harry shrugged, irritated and made his way into the hallway. "Harry, they can do the patronus," Hermione told her friend. There were only three standing there, unsurprisingly and the three were three that they knew rather well.

"They've surrounded us. Can't you feel it?" Harry asked, eyes on Hermione. "We can't fight them from in here. They're waiting for a reaction."

"Then let's give it to them," James said. Harry stared at his future father, feeling the shock really hit him now, that they were staring face to face only a few feet away.

Hermione pointed upwards. "This door opens to the outside. We're stopped so you should be all right getting out." Hermione turned to her left hearing Ena's soft voice mumbling. She was on the ground, grasping her head in agony.

"Ena, we're right here. Fight the cold," Ginny demanded, eating a piece of chocolate.

"Accio chocolate frogs," she said, sharply. "Eat these," she said.

"Good luck," Hermione said.  
Harry opened the door, stepping out onto the track. They were luckily on solid ground. Remus, and James followed him. Ginny was right behind them. She had been able to form a patronus for a few months now, but this would be her first attempt against real dementors.

They were faced with a large number of dementors, that all turned towards them when they left the train. They came quickly. Ginny wasn't able to form the happy thoughts that were necessary. She fell to a knee as they came closer. Remus and James stepped in front of her. As one the three of them: Harry, James, and Remus, all shouted "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Two stags and a large wolf appeared. The dementors went crazy as the misty forms circled them and ran them away. Harry felt his scar burning painfully. He pressed the heel of his hand to it, black spots forming in his vision. "Hey! Hey!" James called, but Harry couldn't hear him. Ginny dove to catch Harry as he collapsed.

Ena came running out and grabbed Harry, pulling him back against her, taking his weight off of Ginny. Ginny looked at the worried young witch. She was quite a strange girl.

"I'll go talk to the conductor," Remus said. Ginny felt like laughing and crying at the same time when she heard that. Hadn't he said that when they had been attacked by dementors the first time? He really was the same Lupin.

Ginny followed him swiftly, to help however she could. "He doesn't handle dementors well…" said a deep voice.

"Dementors. I recognize them from a few days ago," Ena said. "They sucked the soul out of my sister before some dark wizards killed her." Ena clutched Harry tightly. Her worst fear was so soon met again. She shuddered, sadness and pain filling her.

"Come on. There going to start the…"

"James!" a female shouted. Ena looked up, brushing the tears from her face as a blur of black robes and red hair hit James like a cannon ball. A strong hand placed itself on her shoulder. She flinched, gripping Harry tightly. She looked up to see Sirius Black looking down at her. Neville was beside him. Neville pulled Harry from her and Sirius helped her to her feet. She felt a terrible urge to see Bill right now. He was the only figure that she had come to see as a figure of protection, aside from Harry, who had protected her fiercely in the last battle. Harry, however was once again unconscious and Bill wasn't around to keep their group together. Luna and Padma had come to see if they could help them, but Sirius waved them off.

Ena could feel those black eyes of the dark young man from Harry's compartment. She spotted him as he stood unnoticed just inside the train when they entered. His eyes were on her, but not locked on her face, but the necklace around her neck. She gripped it in her fist, as if to hide it from his piercing gaze. Sirius' hand around her waist, and holding her other hand on his shoulder made her realize that the creepy boy wasn't going to get to her. His grip actually tightened when he saw who she was looking at.

"What the hell are you doing Snivellus? Don't you have something better to do than lurk like an absolute idiot?" Sirius growled.

Hermione sat, wedged between Neville and Luna, all staring at Ena who was taking care of Harry. The bus had started up safely and they were nearly to Hogwarts. Excitement flowed in Hermione's very blood. She was going back to Hogwarts, the wonderful school that they had lost in the war. This was the place where everyone was safe, everyone could be protected. This was the last place Voldemort would attack. This was where they could be sheltered.

Hermione felt the train slow with an apprehensive smile. She walked to Harry, ignoring Ena's objection and gave him a quick shake. He opened his eyes with a painful groan and rubbed his forehead.

"Harry we're back. We're in Hogsmeade," she whispered.

"Hogwarts," Harry whispered, sitting up quickly. He groaned, grabbing his forehead. Ena recognized the red haired girl from before going by the room, walking quickly. Ena walked to the doorway, stepping out. "Excuse me. That pin is like James' correct?" she asked.

"Yes, I am the head girl at Hogwarts," Lily said.

"That means you can help us right?" Ena asked. She wasn't really caught up to this whole Hogwarts thing.

"Of course," Lily said. "I'll try."

"Our friend Harry. He has a terrible headache from their dementors. Hermione has given him a lot of chocolate, but…" Ena trailed off.

"I might have a potion," the red head said, stepping into the compartment just as people started to hurry off of the train. Harry, Hermione, and Neville's eyes nearly bulged out of their heads when they saw who Ena had happened to bring back in.

"You're Harry?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Harry said, his voice raspy and deep, headache lowering his tone.

"That's an interesting scar. How'd you get it?" she asked.

"Spell gone wrong," Harry said.

Lily shuffled through the pockets of her robes and pulled out a vile of a muddy-colored liquid. "Drink up, the lot of you have to go through the sorting ceremony now. It won't be canceled because of those dementors."

"Didn't expect it to be," Harry muttered.

"You have a very powerful patronus. James says it was stronger than his even," Lily said.

"I've had to use it more than once," Harry replied, downing the potion in one go.

"Neville, let's go. We don't want to be late."

"We'll catch up," Harry called after them, noticing that Ena hadn't budged from her spot, even as Hermione and Neville slipped out.

There was a thudding of footsteps. Harry's eyes were assaulted as Bill ran in, and got very close in a very short time. The man grabbed his face, looking directly into his eyes, carefully. "Are you all right?" Bill asked.

"I'm fine," Harry said.

"You're not hurt?" Bill questioned.

"I'm fine," Harry repeated.

"You're sure that you weren't injured?" Bill pressed further.

"Bill I'm fine," Harry said, a bit more forcefully.

"Ena what about you. I heard that you took the dementor attack the worst. Are you all right?" Bill asked, standing and grabbing her shoulder tightly.

"Yes, but you're hurting me," Ena responded.

"Oh, my apologies. Hullo. Thank you for helping my students," he said, holding out a hand to Lily.

"I'm Lily Evans."

"Professor Amherst… I'm glad to make your acquaintance," he said, warmly.

"Likewise, sir," Lily replied.

"All right. Let's go, come on. You're late," Bill said, wanting to get Harry away from his future mother as quickly as possible because the boy looked whiter than a piece of parchment.

"Hagrid is waiting at the lake for the two of you, follow the voices and you'll get there," Bill said, though he well knew that Harry knew his way to the edge of the lake. Miss Evans and I must get to the school soon regrettably. I will see you soon. He patted the thestral on the head kindly, waving to the two of them. Ena stared at the animal for a long time as Harry pulled her towards the lake. A boat was waiting for them with two first years already in it.

"'ello there. I'm Hagrid. Let's ge' on shall we?" he said, kindly. Harry took his time on the boat ride not to look at the view of the castle, but to meet eyes with each of his fellow twenty-first century friends. They met his gaze, except Ena whose eyes were locked in wonder on the grandeur of the great castle. When they hit shore, Ena was the last off the boat, and only got off when Harry pulled her up. She was as in awe by the amazing new world as the first years that surrounded her, more than most even.

Hermione's face lit up at the side of Minerva McGonagall, whose eyes fell disapprovingly on their group. Hermione knew it was only the way McGonagall was, but Harry was just made uncomfortable by it.

They were left with suspense for what felt much like the normal time.

"What is this ceremony?" Ena asked, nervously.

"The sorting hat will put you in a house. There are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin," Harry said.

"What does that mean?"

"The hat will find a trait in you and put you in the house that will best suit you," Hermione said. "Don't worry. You'll probably be in Ravenclaw. Your whole family line comes from that house. It's better than Slytherin."

"I hope I'm somewhere that I can help. I want to prove myself," Ena said. "I want to show everyone… show you that I can be great no matter what I have to do."

Hermione looked at Harry discreetly, as Ena wrung her hands. Neville caught both of their gazes as well. That wasn't exactly a very Ravenclaw-like statement, not was it from the house of red or of yellow.

Hermione pulled the two aside, leaving Ena with Padma, Luna, and Ginny. "What do we do if what she just said really means that she'll do anything."

"Slytherin," Neville muttered.

"We can still protect her," Harry said.

"How?" Hermione hissed.

"We need to talk to Bill," Harry said.

"How? We can't just waltz in and say, we need to talk to professor Amherst alone to make sure that he tells the hat not to put Ena in a house that will potentially spit out some of the worst wizards of all time," Hermione said. "Like that wouldn't be obvious."

"We didn't think we'd have to face this, because we've seen Ena only in a sorrowful and grieving mood. Now that her possibilities are opening up, she may have said something that was slightly Slytherin, but that doesn't mean she'll be sorted into that house," Neville debated.

"You're right… we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Hermione agreed. Harry was less convinced, but he went along all right.

McGonagall came into sight and they quickly ended their little meeting as her suspicious eyes fell on them. They followed her to the great hall, keeping their heads low as the professor led them into the large room. Ena's eyes locked onto the sky.

The sorting hat was placed on its rickety old stool in the center of the room. Hermione looked at it, disdainfully, but it didn't open its flap to sing. McGonagall walked to it and seemed to speak to it. It let out a huff of dust.

Every year and again I sing a happy tune

Every year you come to leave as time turns into June

Our times are low

You all must grow

To face a terrible threat

Your house could be

The testimony

To what lies ahead

So when you go to your rooms tonight

And lay down to sleep

Know within your mind

That you must find

A friend among the rest

Ravenclaw the brilliant

Gryffindor the brave

Hufflepuff the friendly

Slytherin the cunning.

Time to learn yourself

Your time shall pass

I'll teach you yourself

It's time for class.

The sorting began in a roar, one student after another. The hat had barely touched Ginny's head when it yell Gryffindor, followed by loud screaming and a roar of applause. Hermione had been directly after the red head who quickly found a seat at the Gryffindor table. Her place was announced beside the red head.

Each person's sorting seemed like a millennia to the nervous Bill as he waited for each of his students to be sorted. He knew where most of them were going, but it seemed like forever before Harry came up.

"Emerson, Harry," McGonagall said. Harry stepped up, not very nervous really. The hat was there for a long time. Harry had his arms crossed and was muttering to it, sounding rather aggravated.

At last the hat spit out "S-Gryffindor." Harry took it off sharply and slammed it down onto the stool, walking to the hesitant clapping of the Gryffindor table. Everyone in the hall had heard the house he had nearly been put it. Everyone in the hall was confused. The hat didn't often change its mind about something.

Bill's grip on the table was so tight that his knuckles had turned white as he waited through Jimmy Everett and Theodore Haden, both Hufflepuffs. Harry's eyes were locked on Ena's as she ascended to the hat. She looked at Harry, and felt a strange pressure on her mind. She stopped in her step. An eerie voice entered her head, sounding much like Harry's. "Not Slytherin. Anything but Slytherin Ena," the voice said. "Be certain you aren't in Slytherin."

"Why," she whispered.

A loud voice roared from the head of the Great Hall. "Mr. Emerson. Leave this hall immediately." Harry looked up to see Bill's angry eyes on him. Bill had yelled at him. He looked at Dumbledore whose eyes were locked onto him eyes very darkly. McGonagall had her eyes on him as well. Harry made sure to slip his wand away before standing and walking slowly from the hall, not caring about the stares of the other members of the hall. He had faced death eaters, the curiosity of a group of Hogwarts kids wouldn't do anything to him. He had found a way to mask his emotions and lock them away. "Not Slytherin," he said directly into Ena's mind once more. She looked confusedly between Bill and Harry and back again.

Bill had started for the doors that Harry had left through, fury written on his grizzled features. Not even Ginny had ever seen him that mad. She followed them both out of the hall, the whole ordeal leaving the great hall in silent shock. None of the students seemed to know what had happened. Ena sat down at the prodding of McGonagall and the hat was placed on her head.

"Ah a noble heart, I see. You have a strong ambition, overpowers many of your other traits, but you don't want Slytherin I see. Hmm… difficult choice. You are a very fast learner. You shall need that. I will help you do what you need to do. If you are surrounded by the smartest, it will help you, won't it? Besides, there is the case of your heritage to consider. You have very ancient ancestors that went to this school. One of your ancestors was taught directly by Rowena Ravenclaw. Of course, the best choice is obvious if that is truly your decision," the hat said.

"Not Slytherin," she thought to him, wanting to do what Harry thought was right.

"Alright then, my dear. RAVENCLAW!" he shouted.

There was a roar of applause from one of the tables in particular. She took her a seat at the loud table. Though she didn't know which table was which house, she had picked up that you sit at the one that cheers the loudest from the previous new witches and wizards.

She kept her head low as she waited out the rest of the sorting. She only looked up when Luna, Padma, and Neville were sorted. She watched as Luna was sorted into Gryffindor which seemed to surprise her other new friends. She thought she heard something about Luna having been a Ravenclaw before now. Padma was placed beside her and later Neville went to sit by Hermione and Luna. Padma quickly started up conversation with one of the other Ravenclaws. Ena looked at Hermione, Luna, and Neville with envy. She wished she had someone to talk to. Padma wasn't the member of the group most loyal to their little family. It was likely she didn't care much for them at all the way she acted.

Ena wished the night would end and soon it did, without Harry, Ginny, or Bill returning, without Padma saying a word to her. It ended leaving her feeling more alone in the world than she ever had before. She wished above all that she could just have her sister back, sitting beside her and experiencing this. She stared down at her empty plate throughout the entire meal, almost relieved when Dumbledore announced that they could leave. She moved with the crowd, following the others to her new dormitory. What she would give to have Gracie back at her side.

All right, here's another little tidbit for you. I hope you're liking it so far and if you're still with me I'm glad. More still to come… Please review


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